Adaptive Trial Scheduling in Naming Treatment for Aphasia

Summary

Aphasia is a language disorder caused by stroke and other acquired brain injuries that affects over two million people in the United States and which interferes with life participation and quality of life. Anomia (i.e., word- finding difficulty) is a primary frustration for people with aphasia. Picture-based naming treatments for anomia are widely used in aphasia rehabilitation, but current treatment approaches do not address the long-term retention of naming abilities and do not focus on using these naming abilities in daily life. The current research aims to evaluate novel anomia treatment approaches to improve long-term retention and generalization to everyday life. This study is one of two that are part of a larger grant. This record is for sub-study 2, which will evaluate the benefits of adaptive trial spacing.

Detailed Description

Study 2: Evaluate the benefits of adaptive trial scheduling. Study design: Investigators will enroll 32 people with aphasia in a randomized within-subjects crossover design comparing an adaptive scheduling condition to two non-adaptive conditions. For each condition, all treatment procedures will be matched except for the number of treated words and the trial spacing manipulation. Participants will receive 10 weeks of computer-based training per condition, with probes administered at baseline and at 1 week, 3 months, and 6 months post-treatment. Condition order will be randomly assigned and counter-balanced across participants. In total, Study 2 will include typically 3-4 (but up to 6) assessment sessions, 120 one-on-one treatment sessions, and 24 baseline and follow-up probe sessions per participant over an \~1-year period, or up to 18 months. All assessment, treatment, and probe sessions will take place via telehealth. Treatment description: For each condition, all treatment procedures will be matched except for the number of treated words and the trial spacing manipulation. The treatment phase for each of the three conditions will consist of ten weeks of one-on-one treatment four times per week in which the treating clinician will work alongside participants to complete flashcard practice four days a week. The treatment sessions will each last 30 minutes to approximate realistic treatment dosage in outpatient or home health practice settings. Treatment will consist of effortful retrieval practice: on each trial, participants will see a picture of the target and attempt to name it, then rate their naming accuracy by button press. The experimenter will code their response time and perceived accuracy. Finally, the experimenter will code their accuracy which will reveal the target in verbal and written form. If they are unable to name the word correctly, they will be able to replay the answer and repeat it three times prior to moving on to the next trial, per Conroy et al.

Eligibility Criteria

Interventions